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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25852819">Can’t Live With Them, Can’t Live Without Them.</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Puffinpastry/pseuds/Puffinpastry'>Puffinpastry</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>A Sabercub or Two [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Dragon Quest XI</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Domestic Fluff, Dragon Quest XI Act II Spoilers, F/F, Hero | Luminary is Named Eleven | El (Dragon Quest XI), M/M, Multi, No Act III, Rebuilt Dundrasil, Saying FUCK YOU to tradition and responsibility at every given chance, Selectively Mute Hero | Luminary (Dragon Quest XI), They get one cat and it all goes downhill from there, eventual polyamory</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 06:07:53</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Explicit</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>6,246</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25852819</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Puffinpastry/pseuds/Puffinpastry</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>They saved the world.<br/>They rebuilt the kingdom of Dundrasil. </p><p>The dust has settled from Mordegon’s defeat, and everyone has begun to settle into their new lives.<br/>It should be their happily ever after.</p><p>But, of course, nothing is ever that simple.<br/>As more and more demands pile upon the newly crowned king of Dundrasil, Erik does what he can to hold it all together.<br/>But at least the cat helps.</p><p>INCOMPLETE. ON INDEFINITE HIATUS.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Camus | Erik/Hero | Luminary (Dragon Quest XI), Eventual Camus | Erik/Hero | Luminary/ Sena | Serena, Krystalinda/Queen Sharl | Frysabel</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>A Sabercub or Two [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1845100</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>25</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Hi everybody. This has been a long time coming and it’s been sitting finished in my google drive since June so.<br/>Here ya go.<br/>The catlady AU lives!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“I can’t hardly blame the auld fools,” Rab said, dropping heavily into one of the many plush chairs in the library. “After what happened to Dundrasil… They can’t be faulted for doing what they think would protect us.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Erik scoffed. “Like having babies is going to prevent a monster invasion. Isn’t that what prompted the first one?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Erik felt a harsh tap on his shin. El had used the spine of the tome he was reading through to jab him. “Be nice,” El said, just as soft-spoken as he’d ever been, before turning back to the page he’d been on. How he was able to follow and be part of a conversation while reading at the same time, Erik would never understand.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Not that it was something he needed to get, not as long as it meant that Erik could lay on the same sofa, legs in El’s lap as they both relaxed. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Rab chuckled, but it wasn’t as though he found it funny. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Erik would need to find a way to apologize without directly saying ‘sorry’ later.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You don’t need to worry none.” Rab went on, “you two are younger now than Elenor and Irwin were when you were born, El. You’ll figure yourselves out when you’re right and ready to.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Erik noticed that the pages in El’s book had stopped turning, and if he could see past the curtain of hair obscuring his eyes, he would see that he was no longer reading at all.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>El had told Erik that he felt no real sense of loss for his birth parents. He sometimes wondered what life would’ve been like if they had survived, he listened carefully when Rab told him about the dearly departed, but he couldn’t call up any kinship for them. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Even now, crowned as King of the newly restored kingdom of Dundrasil, he was still struggling to reconcile El the boy from Cobblestone, and Eleven the descendant of royalty.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Good thing Erik was here to help.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey, firefly,” Erik moved one leg so that El’s book jumbled, and he lost his place. “That’s enough studying for now, don’t you think? Why don’t you wave your hand and have the cook whip something up for us?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>El made a sound that he meant to be taken as frustration, but Erik could tell from the ever so slightly upward turn at the corner of his mouth, that he didn’t mean it. “We had dinner not three hours ago.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Doesn’t mean I’m not hungry again.” Erik sat back up, moving his legs back down where they should be so that he could lean heavily into El’s side.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>El immediately went red. Even the smallest amount of public affection embarrassed him to no end, even if ‘public’ meant the two of them, plus Rab, in a library with the doors closed and the curtains drawn.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Erik could see Rab now, and his eyes had gone soft. He was smiling as he stood up to leave. “I think I had quite enough for dinner. I’ll just see you boys in the morning. Don’t forget, Queen Frysabel, her wife, and her advisor will be here tomorrow. You’d best be presentable by noon.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>El turned even redder, and Rab was on his way out the door.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’re not even really hungry, are you?” El grumbled.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I could eat.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’ll get fat.” El chided.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Like I’m the only one.” Erik patted El’s belly. There was very little padding over the muscle. El wasn’t eating enough. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Now that they weren’t living campsite to campsite, or fighting for their lives every few miles, he should be putting on some weight, right?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Well, that’s a problem for another time.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Already leaning in close, Erik turns his head so that his nose presses into the crook of El’s neck.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His hand travels over his husband’s chest, and Erik sees El’s hands fist into his clothing. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He couldn’t help but smile. Always so easy...</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Being the King’s husband didn’t have much in the way of a job description, aside from looking pretty and doing his best not to make any rude comments about the rules and customs and dignitaries while in the same room as said dignitaries, though Erik was slowly adding on little bits and pieces to that list.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Little jobs like </span>
  <em>
    <span>keeping Eleven from getting too stressed. </span>
  </em>
  <span>That was his favorite addition so far.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The advisors and other higher-up noble folk did enjoy piling more and more demands onto El, though most days it ended neatly enough, no harm no foul, so that all it took to unwind him was a little extra attention. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Erik loved that he could do this.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>That he was the </span>
  <em>
    <span>only</span>
  </em>
  <span> one that could do this.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>This</span>
  </em>
  <span>, of course, meant turning the King of Dundrasil, the Luminary, arguably the most powerful man in the world, into a trembling mess. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>El was a full-body blusher. His face and ears had the most vibrant red coloring, but his shoulders and upper arms were flushed red, too. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>His fists were bunched in the silken sheets of their bed, and his hair was out of its tie, falling down over his shoulders and strands falling over his face.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Erik was on his knees on the marbled floor, between El’s spread legs, looking up at his husband. El’s pupils are blown out wide, breathing heavily, his shoulders trembling. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Erik had one hand pressing down on El’s hip, while the other he had wrapped around himself, moving in tandem with his head as he licked and sucked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Maybe he shouldn’t be getting off to this so easily, but then again… </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>One of El’s hands left the sheets to thread through Erik’s hair instead. El’s hips jerked for just a moment, and the hand in his hair tugged just a little too hard.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The only sounds to be heard in their shared chambers was El’s breathing.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It hitched and changed, gasped and sighed as Erik worked on him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>El never made any noise, even quieter in bed than he was in everyday life, something that caused Erik some uncertainty earlier in their relationship, but he has since grown more than accustomed to.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He could read El easy by now, knowing that when El’s breath hitches </span>
  <em>
    <span>just </span>
  </em>
  <span>the right way, when his breathing gets quicker and shallow, that he’s close, and then, all he’ll have for a warning is-</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Erik-“</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>There it was.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Erik hummed, and El’s head fell slightly to the side, his hips stuttered against where Erik had him pinned down, his breath left him in a shudder, and then Erik was swallowing around him, coming himself with just a few more strokes against the sheets.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Erik rested his cheek against the inside of El’s thigh, and after just a moment, the hand in his hair began to comb gently through.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Erik opened his eyes. El was still bright red, but most of the tension he’d been seeing was gone.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Good</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Erik pushed himself up off his knees, and El picked him up the rest of the way, setting him down on his lap.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They laid back together, El’s longer legs still hanging off the end of the bed, Erik’s head pillowed on his chest, laying across his body, their fingers twined together. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We should change the sheets.” El says, but makes no move to follow through.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“In the morning.” Erik responds, “the envoy won’t be here until lunch. And it’s not like they’ve ever let you sleep in before.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Erik can’t quite decipher the response El gave, just a little too quiet to hear. Improving or not, from time to time he still fell mute, or just too quiet to hear.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Good thing for Erik, and all the practice he’s had in figuring El out with little to no input.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, yeah.” Erik sighed, he really did wish they’d give him a morning or two to just </span>
  <em>
    <span>rest, </span>
  </em>
  <span>but whatever.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He </span>
  <em>
    <span>supposed </span>
  </em>
  <span>that their Kingdom did come first.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He got up, leaving El still hanging half-off the bed. Though when he returned, just to find him nearly asleep in the same position-</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Erik tossed the wet rag on top of him, </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“C’mon, dumbass.” Erik said as El snapped back awake with the snort. “At least get on the bed.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They go about their routine in comfortable silence, and Erik falls asleep with El’s head tucked under his chin.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>~~</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The room was still dark when Erik woke, but there were two thin stripes of light coming in through the curtains.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The bed was cold.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>El was gone.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It wasn’t unusual, on the contrary, in fact. Erik woke alone most mornings nowadays. He was used to it, by now.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Going about his morning in the quiet wasn’t all bad. Though he couldn’t say it was something he enjoyed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Pulling the drapes open, the mid-morning light lit up the room.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Their first few years together were different.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Waking up together, having the luxury to be a little lazy. Greeting the day at their own pace.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Erik dressed in silence. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was no one to talk to, no one to hide his sash, and no one with a frizzy bed-head to make fun of.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Erik remembered thinking that royalty did nothing all day long. That they sat on a throne and had someone care to their every whim.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Maybe some other kingdoms were like that.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But more often than not, it wasn’t. Erik spent his days roaming the castle, hardly doing much at all.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Being the King’s husband wasn’t a hard job.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He didn’t have to attend the meetings that his husband did. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He didn’t have to appear for every audience, every public function.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And the few times he did, all he really had to do was smile, look pretty, and not make any inappropriate or potentially offensive comments.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Eleven had it much harder.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Setting his circlet in place, Erik took a deep breath. He probably wasn’t too late to make it to breakfast, at the very least.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The upper halls of the castle were mostly quiet in the mornings. Only a handful of castle staff milling about, sweeping floors, changing sheets, standing guard.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>No, it was once you reached the bottom of the two ornate staircases where the day got hectic.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The fountain in the center of the Great Hall really impeded movement.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>People Erik recognized and people that Erik did not ran about in what may have appeared to be disarray if one was not used to how Dundrasil was run.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Which, if he could describe it in two words, would be ‘organized chaos.’</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It looked a mess, but everyone knew exactly what they were doing.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Erik paused at the bottom step, and made a quick headcount.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He didn’t see any bakers or cooks milling about- so it was either much earlier than he thought, or much later.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Though… it isn’t hard to spot El through the crowds.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He already stands taller than most anyone else in the room, but between the crown and the robes that are far too bulky and intricate to be of any real function, it would be near impossible to miss him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Erik couldn’t be bothered to remember the names of the many advisors that flank him. He knows their faces, knows what exactly about El’s stress each one contributes to, knows what about him ticks each one off the most.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And really, who cared about their names?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It wasn’t as if they bothered to treat Erik with any sort of respect, why should he bother even trying?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was much more fun to watch them stumble over half-assed apologies whenever something particularly egregious they said reached El’s ears.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Erik would catch up in his own time.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>First, he had a few rounds of his own to make.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The kitchen ran much smoother than the rest of the palace.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The bakers moved across the kitchen and back as if they’d rehearsed, and many of them even took a second of time to greet Erik with a smile. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>They turned a blind eye to him as he plucked a still steaming-hot roll of bread from a dish. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The cooks and housekeepers were the ones who truly held all the power around here, and every day Erik was thankful he’d made allies with them early on rather than trying to kiss up to the councilmen and advisors that wouldn’t ever see him as any more than they already did. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>But speaking of them…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It did seem later than he had thought, so Erik made his goodbyes and rushed from the kitchens, eating as he went, not a care paid to the crumbs that landed on his shirt or the oil on his fingers.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Eleven had wanted him to join in greeting the Sniflheim embassy, for one reason or another. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Late or not, he’d be there. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Manners intentionally thrown to the wayside, Erik let the Throne room doors open as wide as he could push the heavy stone things. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sadly he couldn’t ever really make a dramatic enough entrance here, since the doors never slammed one way or another. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But even still El saw him immediately, and his face lit up in a smile. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Erik,” he waved from his seat on the King's throne despite his audience and despite the nasty grimace that the advisor with the sour face and pointed nose gave him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Though the audience was much smaller than Erik had expected. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Only the Queen, her wife, and a pair of sentries on either side. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>That, and what could only be described as a very large pram between them.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Perhaps he’d slept too late, after all. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But still, better late than never, and Erik wasn’t one to pass up a chance at pissing off another old politician with a stick up his ass. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They all waited quietly for him to join his husband at the end of the room, and for a moment, Erik considered taking a seat in the second throne.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But quickly thought better of the idea.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It wasn’t his spot to take, Queen wasn’t his title.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He had no rights to it.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>So instead, Erik leaned against the one El sat in. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s so good to see you, Lord Erik.” Queen Frysabel gave him a polite nod. “You’re just in time, I have-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Pardon my interruption.” Pointy-nose cut in, hardly sounding sorry at all, “But your Majesty, you do not need to refer to </span>
  <em>
    <span>Erik </span>
  </em>
  <span>as Lord. He hasn’t any formal title.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Krystalinda scowled as the Queen took a moment to look disconcerted.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He didn’t need to see El’s face to know how furious he was.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>This wasn’t the first it had been said, and it wouldn’t be the last.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It would seem that whatever </span>
  <em>
    <span>talk </span>
  </em>
  <span>Eleven and Rab had with him the last time didn’t stick.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“E-even so,” Queen Frysabel carried on, “You’re just in time, Erik,” she said with a glance to pointy-nose. “I have a gift for you both, to ensure good luck for our Kingdom relations.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>From the pram, Krystalinda hefted a swaddled kitten. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>With the blanket removed, and a wave of her hand, the creature floated on her magic up the few stairs between them to land squarely in El’s arms, laying on its back like a baby, head cradled near El’s shoulder, and its tail draping down his other elbow.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Oh, good goddess no. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Erik saw it happen in slow motion.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The great cub blinked its big eyes, staring straight up into the King’s eyes, and yawned.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It’s little speckled forelegs stretched up, toes uncurling and shaking slightly before it squeaked, and started to purr, settling down contentedly in El’s arms.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He saw El fall in love. He saw the mama bear inside him begin to creep out.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“She’s a silver sabrecub.” Queen Frysabel said, “A purebred, from a long line of domestic sabrecats, all kept by the royal family.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Erik peered over El’s shoulder to take a good look at the cat.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It didn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>look </span>
  </em>
  <span>any different from any other sabrecub he’d come across before. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>But… </span>
</p><p>
  <span>it had long whiskers that curled up on the ends. A pink button nose speckled with black. Perfectly round little ears and its short little baby mane was a mess of curls.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Erik could feel a tug on his own heart.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>They were doomed.</span>
  </em>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>She should have been fine, and Erik had been content to ignore her, until El finally got away from it all, and caved right away to his new kitten’s cries, opening the cage door and bringing the cat to bed with him. And cuddling it.<br/>As if Erik hadn’t been right there.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>It’s not really shown much this chapter, but I thought it would be a good idea to go ahead and toss it out there that the selective mutism I’m going to be writing here is probably going to be pretty different from the portrayals seen in a lot of other fic.<br/>I’m drawing quite a bit of it off of my own personal experience with having it, and as such there will be things that don’t line up.<br/>I never learned sign language to help with it, and as such, neither has this version of El. It’s not for any particular reason, other than for this, I’m writing what I know, I suppose.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>As the meeting continued, more and more dignitaries and councilmen made their appearances to voice their own opinions, ever so steadily, Erik was moved from his husband’s side. Shooed further and further away as more… ‘Important’ people crowded around, much to the guard’s distress. </p>
<p>“Comfortable there, in his shadow?” </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Erik had seen the ...former... witch approach him after she too lost her place at the Queen’s side. “Yeah, I am, actually.” Erik didn’t bother to hide the challenge in his voice. He didn’t know what Krystalinda had in mind to be asking him anything like that. In his shadow. Like hell he was-</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Oh, don’t be so uptight, child.” Krystalinda rolled her eyes at him, picking at the stoat fur lining around the sleeves of her dress.</p>
<p>Long and flowing, it hardly suited her. “I wasn’t trying to rile you up. It was an honest question.” </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Erik still wasn’t quite so sure. “Are you happy?” He asked, “You can’t be too thrilled to give up your sorcery.” </p>
<p> </p>
<p>She frowned at his hostility. “There’s no need to be rude. And to answer your questions, I am happy. As it turns out, I much prefer the workings behind the scenes than the limelight itself. Belle can have it all.” She didn’t bother to dignify Erik’s second question. </p>
<p>She’d already explained herself, and didn’t see any need to again. She could not undo her past, couldn’t take back the hurt she had inflicted on others.</p>
<p>But working with the Queen, helping to protect and better her new kingdom, she could begin to atone. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Though… Erik found himself reluctantly agreeing with her. He didn’t much care for the spotlight, himself. Even back when people knew him as one of the greatest thieves around… </p>
<p>No. He much preferred being able to watch El shine over any other option. </p>
<p>He wasn’t lying when he said he was happy. Cold in the shadow or not… He’d never really been bothered by a chill. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Erik’s attention is grabbed by a sudden roll of laughter, but when he catches El’s forced smile, he knows just how uncomfortable he is.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“‘Behind the scenes,’ huh?” Erik sighed, “You mean you’ve actually got a say in what goes on?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I used to.” Krystalinda answered. “Until I married her, at least. They’re bothering you about an heir, are they not?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“That’s a little personal, don’t you think?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Not when I share the same troubles. They are unhappy that Belle chose me over a noblewoman, and while I do not know what they intend to achieve by alienating me and forcing her hand, but I will not stand for it.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Erik glanced at her again, now seeing Krystalinda in a new light. </p>
<p>“Well, if you figure out some way to get them off your back, I’d love to hear it.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I could always cast a spell or two for you,” Krystalinda offered, “Change their minds.” </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Erik didn’t smile back.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Oh, lighten up. You haven’t any sense of humor.” </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Really. This is what his life was turning into. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“But I will. Not more than a few of us in this situation. Might as well stick close, right?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>~~</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Erik woke with a start to a paw jabbing him in the eye. </p>
<p>He wished he could say this was the first time, but…</p>
<p> </p>
<p>It hadn’t even been a week, and all his fears about the cat were coming true. </p>
<p>It was far, far too early to be awake.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The cat had kept him up for hours, yowling at the top of its lungs, demanding her freedom from the cage she was in.</p>
<p>Erik didn’t understand. There was plenty of room in it.</p>
<p>She had food. She had water. She had a litterbox and a soft, plush bed. All of it gifted alongside her. </p>
<p>She should have been fine, and Erik had been content to ignore her, until El finally got away from it all, and caved right away to his new kitten’s cries, opening the cage door and bringing the cat to bed with him. And cuddling it.</p>
<p>As if Erik hadn’t been right there. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Erik rolled over, turning away from the cat, but it only followed, either not understanding or not caring for Erik’s preference against eye punching, clambering on his side and purring so loudly Erik could swear his lungs were vibrating with it.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>This is why he didn’t care for having pets.</p>
<p>Honestly. Taking care of himself was hard enough sometimes. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Thoroughly woken, Erik gave up on banishing the little cat, and sat up in bed, the kitten moving easily to his lap. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Taking the cat by the scruff and holding it up, he was surprised to see it not complain at all. </p>
<p>It held its little paws close to its belly, and the volume of its purring only increased in volume as it blinked slowly at Erik.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>That meant something, didn’t it? </p>
<p>But Erik hardly had the resources to even really begin to guess. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>It was too early.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Though… If there was one thing that hadn’t bothered him yet, was how the cat stuck close as he went about his morning.</p>
<p>He didn’t like it, exactly. </p>
<p>He was still against the idea of being gifted a pet with no warning. </p>
<p>But.</p>
<p>Erik supposed it was nice to have the company. </p>
<p>Even if the company attacked his ankles with cotton-soft paws, made anxious trilling noises while he bathed, and chased and batted at his clothes as he dressed.  </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Come on,” Erik said to the cub, his annoyance at the small animal forgotten for the morning. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>The cat- Freya, El had named it Freya for some odd reason or another, reached up it’s forelegs as Erik reached down to pick her from the marbled floor. </p>
<p>She was surprisingly light for her size, though between the way El overfilled her food dish, and the table scraps he’d seen the kitchen staff treat her to, he knew that it wouldn’t be long before it was a chore to carry her around.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Though of course, that didn’t have to be his job.</p>
<p>None of her care was necessarily his job, nor Eleven’s, for that matter.</p>
<p>There were people in the castle who could take over the responsibility of keeping Freya fed and safe, but neither one of them cared to pawn her off on some servant. </p>
<p>Eleven had been over the moon to receive her, missing having a pet ever since he’d left Cobblestone behind, and with it, the dog he shared the care of with Gemma. </p>
<p>There wasn’t a chance he wouldn’t do whatever he had the time and energy for.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>It was surprisingly easy to fall into this new routine.</p>
<p>Even as Freya wreaked havoc in the kitchens when Erik lost sight of her. </p>
<p>Even as he was woken with forceful baps and nips by needle-sharp baby teeth.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>It was worth it at the very least to be treated to the image of Eleven rushing to pull a giant toddler-cat from where it had somehow found a way to get stuck halfway up the drapes, dangling by her claws.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Day by day, it was getting harder to pretend he wasn’t as smitten with the new addition to their family as he was.</p>
<p>But he was grateful that El hadn’t said anything about the fact that Erik wasn’t pushing Freya from where she’d curled on his lap to sleep.</p>
<p>Or about the fact that he wasn’t far from sleep, himself. </p>
<p>It was like the cat could cast snooze.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>When did he get so lazy?</p>
<p>Time was, he was always the last to bed and the first awake, and here he was, napping for no good reason.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>When the door burst open fast and loud enough to startle Erik from his half-asleep state, he knew it could only be one of two people.</p>
<p>When the door wasn’t stopped from hitting the wall behind it and bouncing off, surely leaving a mark on the paint, he knew exactly who it was who came to disturb his well-earned peace. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>He could say he was upset to see her, though. Mainly Erik was just thankful to still have both legs still attached.</p>
<p>He left El to greet his sister as he focused on carefully unhooking Freya’s claws from where they’d dug into his skin. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Erik drops Freya to the ground just in time to find himself wrapped in a hug.</p>
<p>Mia wasn’t the most affectionate child, and that hadn’t changed.</p>
<p>These days, she only ever hugged him for one reason.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Erik’s only a little miffed at how effortlessly Mia uses the hug to instead lift him off the floor as if he was the younger sibling, here. </p>
<p>Only a little embarrassed.</p>
<p>Honest.</p>
<p>It was hard to maintain any real act of either when he was really just too proud to see how much she’d grown. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>But when his feet touched back on the floor, and she stepped back, grinning wide, and standing not quite as tall as her brother-in-law, but…</p>
<p>Yeah. That ticked him off just a tiny bit. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>But he didn't have much time to be upset when he got a good look at her.</p>
<p>The scar over her cheek wasn’t new, but it still hurt a little to see, all the same.</p>
<p>Erik could’ve killed that newbie brat for hurting her, intentional or otherwise. Everyday, that kid better thank the goddess that Erik hadn’t been around.</p>
<p>No.</p>
<p>It was the distinct lack of the long braid Mia had worn for nearly her entire life.</p>
<p>Nothing but fuzz on either side of her head, and a thick swoop of blue falling over her forehead and over one of the shaved sides. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Like it?” Mia asked, running her fingers through the short hair.</p>
<p>Shorter than his. “Cut it on impulse the other day. Lot easier to manage the stupid helmets when it’s short.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“It fits you very much.” Erik heard El compliment the cut.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Though it hurt a little to see it all gone, Erik smiles for her. “Yeah, kid. Looks great.” Fuck. That sounded forced, didn’t it?</p>
<p> </p>
<p>But if it did, Mia didn’t show that she had noticed. </p>
<p>Instead, her attention had been fully taken by none other than Freya herself.</p>
<p>Because of course she would be the center of attention no matter the occasion. </p>
<p>Erik only spared the scarcest of moments to kick himself for getting jealous of the kitten twice in a single day.</p>
<p>Eleven only gets to stay with them for a few short minutes before being called away from his short break to return to work, sparing a quick goodbye to Mia. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Mia immediately drops the act, the smile falling from her face. She waits a moment, just to be sure that El was gone, and turns a far too serious look at Erik. “Those old bastards still riding your ass about Ellie having kids?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Just as blunt as ever.</p>
<p>That was one thing that wouldn’t ever change about her.</p>
<p>She sits quietly as Erik explains what little he could. </p>
<p>It wasn’t exactly like they really had any options. It wasn’t as if they could even have children… And that was if they even wanted to.</p>
<p>Sure, Eleven was the King, and he would need to at some point…</p>
<p>But what was the rush?</p>
<p>Dundrasil was hardly even completed in its reconstruction. Surely there were more important things to deal with at the moment.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“You know what you need to do?” Mia asks him, but doesn’t wait for any answer. “You need to start some shit. They’re not going to let up on you until you both prove that you aren’t going to just sit back and give in to whatever they want from you.” </p>
<p> </p>
<p>She was right. She always was.</p>
<p>He knew that, of course he did. But… “Ellie’s already having a hard enough time as it is. I don’t want to screw it up, and make them even harder on him.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Mia just shrugged. “Fine. Waste your time. It’s better to try at least, you know.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Yeah. I know.” Erik said, watching as Freya kicked and batted around a crumpled ball of paper. </p>
<p>He would try.</p>
<p>But he couldn’t just do it out of the blue. He needed time to think.</p>
<p>To talk it through with El. “Can we talk about something else?” Erik asked, “Anything else?” Just for a little while, he’d like to ignore the elephant in the room. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Mia wasn’t happy to give up her self-imposed duty to help, but relented.</p>
<p>She didn’t have very long to visit, only a few spare moments to spend with her family while on break from her training. </p>
<p>She’d nearly completed it, and very soon she’d be rejoining her brother in Dundrasil, but as one of the King’s personal guards, depending on how her final trials went.</p>
<p>But from what Erik had seen from her before, he hadn’t any doubts she’d make it in if she so chose. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>She tried the academie at Erik’s pleading, but it wasn’t for her. She’d missed too much time to properly catch up… and besides, they weren’t teaching anything too important.</p>
<p>At least, not in the eyes of a teenager who hardly wanted to spend time trapped in a school so soon after being trapped in gold. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>It was good to see her. Nice of her to stop by, even if she couldn’t stay long. </p>
<p>She understood what it meant to him that she did all that she did to keep in touch, to keep him and Eleven both updated on how she was adapting to the changes in the world at first, and now, checking in with the progress she was making in the life she had chosen for herself.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The day passed all too fast for Erik, and she was gone back to Puerto Valor all too soon.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>And as she left, it was almost as if she’d taken their fragile peace with her. </p>
<p>Maybe that was just Erik’s imagination, as he saw her off, stuck marveling at how different their lives had become, just how vast the difference was between the paths they now walked, and the one that they shared so long ago.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>It came on like the storm.</p>
<p>The demands and new troubles all the council began to pile on relentlessly, El’s days growing longer and his nights shorter underneath all the work.</p>
<p>Erik wanted to help.</p>
<p>Of course he wanted to help-</p>
<p>But it was out of his hands at this point.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>One evening, moon high in it’s arch in the sky, Erik had enough.</p>
<p>He didn’t know if El had slept at all the previous night, and he was fully prepared to make a scene to get him some dearly needed rest. </p>
<p>But it was as though the council could sense his intentions before he’d even left his room.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>El stormed through the doors to their private quarters, chucking off his crown and his -frankly ridiculous- cape without even a word to Erik before he flung himself onto their bed, face-down on the pillows.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The crown clattered down to the cold stone floor, where it spun for a few moments, the sound echoing off the walls of their bedroom.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Erik, still standing where he’d been when the door only scarcely missed him, asked, “have a fun meeting?”</p>
<p>He’d expected an exasperated groan, or other frustrated noise, an explanation, or even for El to get up and turn to give him a look.</p>
<p>But instead, he did none of those things.</p>
<p>He didn’t respond at all.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Now concerned, Erik moved slowly over to the bed, and set Freya gently down on the covers, where she sat patiently, for once not proving herself to be an irredeemable menace. Placing a hand on El’s back, “Hey.” He asked, “what’s wrong? What happened?” </p>
<p>Erik could feel the tremble of his husband’s shoulders through the fabric as he fought away tears. He slowly moved his head back and forth on the pillow.</p>
<p>He didn’t want to talk about it.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>But Erik wasn’t one to take no for an answer. Especially not if it was causing El this much distress. Not if he’d been moved to tears by a single meeting with these bastards.</p>
<p>And so, Erik employed his favorite strategy.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He flopped right on top of El.</p>
<p>He might be a lot shorter than his husband, but that didn’t stop him from squishing the breath out of him.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The air audibly left El’s lungs in one big huff.</p>
<p>Erik snaked his arms under El’s chest, their combined weight turning them numb near-instantly, but a hug was more important right now than the pins and needles he’d have later.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“You know you promised to share everything.” Erik said, “you’ve gotta talk to me, firefly.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>El mumbled something. </p>
<p>Not that Erik could make out the words, smothered between the pillow and Erik, but he could still tell it wasn’t an explanation.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Come on, how bad could it be?” Erik asked. “Do we have to go collect six ancient artifacts from around the world? Fight another giant monster? Spend another six months on Angri-la? Or,” he added, taking a serious tone this time, “are there more documents we have to go through?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>There was something that might’ve been a laugh, but before Erik could congratulate himself on his victory, El rolled over, taking his own turn to squish Erik.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Hey! Hey!” Erik let go of El’s waist to make a futile attempt to push the heavier man off of him. “I get it, mister heavyweight, now let me up, you great lump!”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>El laughed but did as he was asked.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Erik saw the redness around El’s eyes, all the more pronounced by the dark circles.</p>
<p>He was smiling now, but it was strained.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Erik picked the crown from off the floor, looking it over once for any damage before he turned back to El.</p>
<p>Holding the heirloom between his hands, Erik stood by where El sat on their bed.</p>
<p>“Now will his royal Highness tell me what’s wrong?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“You know I don’t like it when you call me things like that.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“And I don’t like it when you're upset.” Erik said, “I don’t like it when you burst in crying and then can’t even tell me what’s wrong. You know you told me you wouldn’t let them kick me out of the loop.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I know,” El said, his voice much softer. “I know, it’s just…” he heaved a great sigh, and Erik waited. “It’s the same as always. They want an heir.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Well, then they made a mistake letting you marry me.” Erik joked, but El didn’t smile.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“They’re very vocal about that, actually.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Erik knew that. There was no way he couldn’t know. He was the King’s husband, but aside from status, it granted him no power. He was no King, he was no prince, he was no lord or lady. He wasn’t allowed all through the castle, and he wasn’t permitted into most meetings. </p>
<p>Not to mention, the council had never made it any secret of their disdain for him, but it never bothered Erik.</p>
<p>Not when El still loved him so much. Not when he still spent most the day at his side, and not when El did what he could to make sure he had a place next to the Throne.</p>
<p>But that still didn’t make it any less disheartening to hear.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Rab’s still on our side, though.” Erik pointed out. “He says we don’t have to worry about that any time soon.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>It wasn’t much, but El closed in on himself. His head dipped down ever so slightly, he brought his shoulders in close, making himself look small.</p>
<p>He shook his head just a little.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“He stopped me before I left,” El said, finally going over what had upset him so much. “He… he said that maybe we should be taking this more seriously. He said that he isn’t going to be around forever, and...” El’s voice did this funny little thing as if he was going to cry. </p>
<p>Erik suddenly felt helpless.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He understood, now.</p>
<p>Rab hadn’t done all that much to dissuade the council from making their demands, but at the very least, he hadn’t been making them himself.</p>
<p>But to pile his own opinion on top, and throwing in his age for good measure...</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Erik leaned down, and gently placed the crown back on El’s head. </p>
<p>He tucked some loose hair behind El’s ear and pressed a small kiss to his forehead.</p>
<p>“It’s alright,” Erik said, letting El press his face into his chest. He held El close. If this is what he needed right now, then this is what he’d do.</p>
<p> “We’ll figure it out.” Somehow. It wouldn’t be the hardest hurdle they’d come across. At least, Erik hopes not.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>As if she could sense the dour mood her parents were in, Freya stepped lightly over the sheets to curl herself over both of their laps, legs stretched out behind her and her bony little elbows digging into Erik’s thighs right where it hurt the most.</p>
<p>A rumbling purr began in her chest as her paws kneaded in the empty air. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>El smiled.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>It was getting harder and harder to dislike the cat. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Especially, as he came to rely on her more and more to keep El’s head above the surface. </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I’m sorry if this chapter seems choppy or disjointed at all. I really came down on the wire to getting it done on time due to a few real life thingies, and troubles pertaining to this chapter in particular.<br/>Next Wednesday’s chapter should be better!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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